"Dealing with her father's illness, a painful breakup, and the inertia of depression, Emm decides to launch into the world of competitive rock-climbing. Whatensues is her quest through the rugged (and often humorous) terrain of physical training and human relationships. Poetic and athletic, "Grace, or the Art of Climbing" is the journey of a young woman suspended between muscularity and vulnerability, falling and climbing, and the ardor and grace of being human."

This play is either written by you, or a YSD student got (at least the scenario - dunno about the actual text of the play) creeeeepily close to what you're going through.

Who are these people?

Bibi - God bless the guy who gets Bee. I can't even think of anything obnoxious to say about her. She can eat pasta without gaining weight, she can run the ridges at Gertrude's Nose with no fear, and she is by miles the best climber of all of us. She's going to Kili with us. Hell, she'll be leading.

Jib computer wizard, entrepreneur, stand-up comedian, stand-up guy I can count on to catch a movie and hold hands in the dark without it having any meaning whatosever. Every woman needs a man like Jib.

Merry - Australian BFF spends the summers on a yacht, nannying for a celebrity couple with two children. She lives in a brownstone and she has a chauffeur. And we have no idea who she works for.

Newsy has been my friend for about 22,000 hours. Or more. I don't have a calculator. She has about 3423% more professional and personal commitments than I do, and yet she still finds time to think about me. I find this astonishing. If you knew her, you'd be astonished, too.

Pax - climber, hiker, corporate warrior, used to date Joe. Sticks by Larry in spite of his horribleness. None of us understands this.

Skatey- he rides a skateboard. He can dance. He can throw a frisbee and he's not bad at karaoke, either.

Sri - Bengali princess who, aside from kicking my ass at climbing, and aside from being a smokin' hiker, brought down the evil empire of Larry and also once told me that "even girls' are turned on my breasts." Also never turns down "one more round."

Supajewie - Long distance drinking buddy, just about the only person I know who "gets it". And no, she's not Jewish. It's a long story.

Tex - is what happens when you take a normal man, add alcohol, subtract common sense and tact, and then buy him another drink.

Things I have done

Sky diving (5 times)

Class 5 white water rafting many times

Ice climbing at Mt. Washington (repeatedly)

Skiied at Mt. St. Anne (Quebec)

Hiked the Ruby Mountains (when I was 6)

Hiked Thorsmork in Iceland

Rock climbed in the Adirondaks

Rock climbed in the Gunks

Gertrude's Nose (repeatedly)

Breakneck Ridge (repeatedly)

Hiked the Sahara Desert

Hiked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu

Things I want to do

Whatever Mischa wants to do in Guatemala (Summer, 2008)

Hike El Carbon Mountains (Honduras)

Hike Choquequirao (Peru)

Summit Snowmass Mountain (Colorado)

Nose Route, El Capitan (who am I kidding?)

Summit Mt. Ranier

Summit Mt. Washington, winter ascent (January, 2008)

Summit Kilimanjaro (August, 2008)

GR20 (2009)

Whatever Mischa wants to do in Guatemala (Summer, 2008)

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English Teacher Disclaimer

I teach English, and I sometimes get a emotional about grammar, punctuation, and usage. I sometimes write posts about other people's grammar - or mine. This does not mean, however, that my blog is without errors. I constantly go back and edit for typos and sometimes even... misspelled words *clutching skull and gagging*. If you find a mistake feel free to call me out on it. I will persist in making mistakes whether I attempt to catch them or not, and I will continue to be my bitchy English teacher self despite my capacity to screw up just as often as the next person... and maybe more.